The Snafu in Municipal Democracy
 
Phillip Hong
May 1, 2010
 
It is natural for us as human beings to have differences in thoughts, and our democracy helps to encourage a plurality that adds to better governance by people who represent us. The point of a democracy is to be part of these intermittent gatherings where something as menial as crossing an "x" on a ballot could translate to formulating the priorities of the public service.
 
As an election official in past ballots, I can tell you first hand how exciting it can be to see different people expressing their ideas secretly and without prejudice. It's a system that we really have taken for granted.
 
There is a minority in the election mechanism, and it is a group of people that can easily be found during municipal elections - sadly, I speak of those who actually bothered to vote. It's dismal to know that a lot of people had decided not to express their views.
 
According to statistics, the City of Vaughan had a horrible turnout in 2006 where only 38% of eligible voters had cared enough to go to the polls. Is it really that hard to mark a small piece of paper? Or is it really that appropriate to let a minority decide who will govern all of us for the next four years?
 
There are common reasons why people don't show up at the polls - don't like the candidates, can't understand the procedure, don't know who stands for what - yet this is the most directly accountable level of government available to us, free of partisan herding and coloured stripes. I truly am baffled as to why most of us have not been able to actually show up.
 
It's not rocket science, and the list of candidates will reflect a more diverse set of views compared to the ideologies and manifestos found at Queen's Park or Parliament Hill.
 
If you want blunt motivation, here's this fact: If you don't vote, someone else who did will make decisions that will affect you immensely. It's the difference between getting the council we have to live with, and getting the council we want to live with.
 
I was lucky to have turned 18 the day before the last municipal election, and I will cast my ballot no matter what I believe in or who I will support. Will you?
   
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